Larry Wayne Harris: The Talkative Terrorist1
Jessica Eve Stern
Published in Jonathan Tucker, ed., Toxic Terror (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2000).
On February 18, 1998, federal agents arrested Larry Wayne Harris, an anti-government
Christian Patriot, for violating Section 175, Title 18 of the United States Code, which prohibits
the possession of a biological agent for use as a weapon. Harris had boasted to an informant that
he had enough “military grade anthrax” to “wipe out” all of Las Vegas.2 Eight bags marked
“biological” had been found in the back of a car he and his accomplice were driving. Several
days later, federal authorities learned that the “anthrax” Harris had brought to Las Vegas was a
vaccine strain not harmful to human health.
Nonetheless, the U.S. government considers Larry Harris a dangerous man. A former
neo-Nazi sympathizer, he is a trained microbiologist who earlier was caught with three vials of
the bacterium that causes bubonic plague, the disease that killed nearly a quarter of Europe’s
population in the mid-14th century. Harris has also disseminated information that could be used
by others to kill, including detailed instructions on how to obtain anthrax and disperse it. Yet
Harris contends that he is merely helping ordinary American citizens to defend themselves
against a biological attack from a “rogue” state such as Iraq. Does Larry Harris fit the profile of a
bioterrorist, or is he merely a harmless eccentric?
Harris’s Interest in Biological Warfare
Larry Harris is convinced that the U.S. government is deceiving the American people by
not fully disclosing the danger of biological terrorism. He believes such attacks are imminent and
that the government is not prepared. He is particularly concerned about inadequate stockpiles of
antibiotics and vaccines. Before his arrest in February 1988, Harris was conducting independent
research on such biological defenses out of his home in Lancaster, Ohio. This research required
that Harris acquire biological pathogens, which he says that he did easily from various sources.
His 1995 purchase of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, was the start of his
troubles with the U.S. government.
1
Harris ordered Yersinia pestis from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), the
same organization that (legally) sold biological agents to Iraq. No law prohibited Harris or
anyone else from acquiring the agent, but he misrepresented himself in his purchase order and
was later convicted of mail fraud. Although the U.S. government promulgated new regulations
on transfers of microbial pathogens and toxins in 1997 (largely in response to the Harris case),
the regulations do not cover biological agents isolated from nature or individuals who are
conducting research with biological agents they already possess. Harris emphasized in an
interview that the regulations will not preclude amateur scientists, foreign powers, or terrorists
from acquiring biological agents. “The only thing the law has toughened up is the shipping
requirements,” he explained in an interview.3 “You know this little run-in I had with the police
{referring to his 1995 arrest?} That was just an irritation for me. I’ve continued my research. And
I contracted with another [Biosafety] Level 3 lab to do the experiments for me on Yersinia.”
Harris claims that he has isolated plague bacteria from cow droppings. (In fact, cow
droppings are not considered a likely source for plague bacteria.) He also says that he has isolated
anthrax, brucellosis, tularemia, and cholera from natural sources. “You know how long it took
me to isolate anthrax from soil? Ten days. It took me fourteen days to recover bubonic plague,”
he boasted. When asked whether he was concerned about his health, Harris replied, “It’s like
working with Dobermans. They’re not dangerous if you know what they are and how to deal with
them. This stuff isn’t dangerous if you take appropriate measures.”
A former colleague who is also a molecular biologist expressed doubt that Harris had
actually isolated these agents. He says that Harris “loves to talk” and tends to brag. The colleague
was convinced, however, that senior members of the neo-Nazi organizations that Harris was
associated with have acquired biological weapons.4 He attributes Harris’ interest in biological
terrorism to his association with them.5 Others fear that Harris may have given the right-wing
movement ideas.6
Despite Harris’s claims to the contrary, the U.S. government has been concerned about
America’s vulnerability to biological terrorism for a long time. The U.S. Army conducted a test
on the New York subway in 1966 in which technicians surreptitiously dropped light bulbs filled
with harmless simulant bacteria through ventilating grates or onto the trackbeds as the trains
entered or departed a station. The bulbs broke and released the bacteria, which were spread by air
2
movements in the tunnels. Army scientists concluded that if pathogenic agents were disseminated
in several subway lines during rush hour, a large portion of the working population in downtown
New York City would be exposed to the disease.7
According to federal prosecutors, Harris told an unidentified source that he was planning
an attack on the New York subway with bubonic plague, using the same technique that the Army
had employed in the 1960s to disseminate the simulant bacteria. Harris reportedly predicted that
hundreds of thousands of people would die and that the government of Iraq would be blamed.8
Harris is also familiar with other dissemination techniques, although he has not threatened to
employ them personally. “You can spread this stuff with a commercial paint sprayer,” he told
me. “You can use Venturi mounts outside older aircraft. Within 48 hours, over 100,000 would be
dead. If you have one tenth of a millionth of a gram, that’s enough to kill a person,” he said.
Harris testified at a friend’s trial that he ran “military models” of this dissemination technique.
“There is no… symptoms till after about 49 hours. At that point in time, once you start showing
the symptoms, you are dead. There’s absolutely nothing we can do for you,” Harris warned.9 A
relatively small biological attack, Harris believes, would make Americans more aware of the
dangers they face.
Harris’s Story
Harris says that he first became interested in biological-warfare (BW) defense when he
enlisted in the Army. He says he was stationed in a microbiology laboratory at Aberdeen Proving
Grounds, a testing facility where chemical weapons were developed and stored. Harris’ military
record indicates that he was briefly stationed at Aberdeen for two months in 1970, where he was
trained to repair trucks and tanks at the US Army Ordinance Center and School. He spent the
rest of his military career as a wheeled vehicle mechanic.10 After he left the Army, he studied at
Ohio State University in the early 1970s.11 During college, he resumed working on BW defenses
at the Battelle Institute, which he claims was located across the street from Ohio State. In fact,
Battelle does have an office near the university but reports that Harris never worked there,
although he applied for a job in January 1996.12 Harris says he was he was recruited by “the
Company,” slang for the CIA, in 1984. He claims to have worked at a “small reference lab”
where the CIA trained Iraqi microbiologists in BW defense. While working at the lab, he became
3
friendly with one of his trainees, a woman named Mariam Arif, a member of a prominent Iraqi
family.13 Several years later, Mariam and the other Iraqi microbiologists were purportedly fired
from the CIA lab because they were considered security risks. The CIA claims to have no record
of any contact with anyone by the name of Larry Harris, and has no comment about its alleged
involvement in training Iraqi nationals or in “reference labs” of any kind.14
Harris testified at a friend’s trial that he had worked at many laboratories owned by secret
organizations whose identity he was “not permitted to divulge.” He also testified that he had
trained U.S. government officials in BW defense at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, the
Casualty and Management Team at the Pentagon; the Army’s Biological Defense Research
Program at Fort Detrick, Maryland; and the Michigan Biological Institute in East Lansing,
Michigan. 15 A Pentagon spokesperson said that she had never heard of a Department of Defense
entity called the “Casualty and Management Team.”16 Moreover, although Harris named a
scientist who had worked at Fort Detrick from the late 1960s until 1996, this individual claimed
that neither she nor any of her colleagues remembered having met Harris or having heard of his
being involved in any Fort Detrick projects.17
In September 1991, Harris re-matriculated at Ohio State to take classes in preparation for
an examination to become a registered microbiologist. Harris says that he encountered Miriam
Arif at the university, where she was also studying microbiology. Ohio State has no record of any
student named Mariam Arif, although the verification office explained that if a student changes
her name after graduating, they only keep a record of the new name.18
In February 1993, Harris says, Mariam disclosed to him a shocking secret: Libya, Iran,
Iraq, Syria, and North Korea were actively pursuing biological weapons. Nuclear weapons were
too expensive, she explained, and biological weapons affect only people, not infrastructure,
making them more useful for attacking the United States.19 For several years, Mariam allegedly
told Larry, the government of Iraq had sent small groups of Iraqi women to carry freeze-dried
biological agents into the United States. These women had already carried hundreds of vials of
lethal biological agents into the country, hiding the vials in their private parts until they passed
through customs.20 When the time was ripe, Iraqi agents would reconstitute the microorganisms,
grow them in large quantities, and disseminate them. Mariam warned Larry about the plot
4
because she wanted him to be prepared. She knew that her secret was safe with Harris because no
one would ever believe him.
A few days later, Harris called the CIA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to inform them of Iraq’s purported plans.
Just as Mariam allegedly foretold, no one at any government agency believed him. Harris says
that a CDC employee told him to develop his own civil-defense manual if he was so concerned,
which he then set out to do.
Since then, it has been Harris’s self-appointed mission to warn Americans about Iraq’s
nefarious plans and to teach citizens how to protect themselves in the event of biological attack.
He has made numerous audio and video tapes providing detailed instructions about how to
prepare a simple antibiotic with colloidal silver and how to acquire large quantities of antibiotics
used to treat animals. Harris believes that people should start taking antibiotics now, to prepare
for imminent BW attacks. “We personally armed Saddam Hussein with enough anthrax, cholera
and typhoid and plague to kill everybody in the world 10 times over,” Harris explains, in
reference to Iraq’s having purchased biological pathogens in the United States.21 “Unfortunately,
we thought the Arabs were stupid people. We had derogatory remarks we made about them. We
called them towel heads and stuff of this nature. We failed to realize these people are extremely
brilliant.”22
Harris’s 1995 Arrest
From November 1994 until May 1995, Larry Harris was employed by Superior
Laboratories in Columbus, Ohio. His job was to test drinking water samples and inspect septic
systems. A colleague described Harris as a “very good worker” who doubled the property
inspection business for the firm during the short period he was employed. At the same time,
however, the colleague was troubled by Harris’s racist beliefs. Harris admitted that he was on the
governing board of the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi organization run by William Pierce, the
author of the book that inspired the Oklahoma City bombing. The colleague attributed Harris’s
desire to acquire biological agents to his belief in the imminence of Armageddon and the need to
stockpile weapons in order to survive.23 Another Superior Laboratory employee told a reporter
that Harris did good work but had “kooky ideas.”24
5
In February 1995, Harris told several colleagues that he wanted to order some Yersinia
pestis to carry out defensive research. He asked the laboratory to order the bacteria for him but
his request was refused, in part because Superior had no facility equipped to handle the bacteria.
Accordingly, Harris decided to order the agent on his own. On May 3, 1995, he telephoned the
American Type Culture Collection, a company in Rockville, Maryland, that supplies laboratories
with cultures of biological pathogens, to set up an account. An ATCC employee told Harris that
he had to run an established laboratory to set up an account and demanded a copy of Harris’
laboratory letterhead as proof that the lab existed.25
Harris solved this problem by going to a local printing shop and ordering stationary with
the letterhead “Small Animal Microbiology Laboratory, 266 Cleveland Avenue, Lancaster, Ohio”
and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval number 890. The location was
actually Harris’s home address and the EPA number was the one already assigned to Superior
Laboratories.26 Harris later told the police that he did not have a laboratory at his home at the
time, although he intended to build one.27 On May 4, 1995, Harris faxed ATCC a copy of his
letterhead, a letter requesting to set up an account, and a form on which he indicated that he had
the necessary training to handle Class 3 cultures. These letters were enough to satisfy ATCC’s
requirements, and an account was set up in the name of Harris’s imaginary company.28
On May 5, 1995, Harris phoned ATCC and ordered three vials of Yersinia pestis. On May
9, the vials were shipped. On May 10, Harris grew impatient and called ATCC to inquire why the
cultures had not yet arrived. Harris explained to the technician that he needed the bacteria for
research on rats to develop an over-the-counter antidote for bubonic plague. He also said that he
was under contract with the State of California. Something about Harris’ manner made the
technician suspect that Harris might not be able to handle the Yersinia pestis safely.29 Since the
vials of bacteria were already en route, the ATCC technician notified the CDC, which in turn
contacted Harris by phone. Harris told the CDC that he was conducting biomedical research
using rats to counteract “imminent invasion from Iraq of supergerm-carrying rats.”30 He admitted
that his laboratory was actually in his home and that he was writing a survivalist manual that
would describe his research. 31
The CDC contacted Forrest Smith of the Ohio Department of Health. At approximately
4:15 p.m. on May 11, 1995, Smith telephoned Edward Sachs of the Lancaster Health Department
6
to inform him that a resident of Lancaster had ordered and received three vials of bubonic plague
bacteria. Smith also informed Sachs that Harris was “not qualified to possess the bacteria,” which
had been sent to his home address in a residential neighborhood. 32 An hour later, Sachs phoned
Captain Lutz of the Lancaster Police Department to discuss measures that might be taken to
minimize risks to the neighborhood. They decided to try to remove the bacteria from Harris’s
possession, and that evening Lutz obtained a warrant to search Harris’s home. 33
Public health officials involved in the case claim that it made them realize how poorly
prepared they were for a bioterrorist incident. The Lancaster Fire Department had no equipment
for dealing with hazardous materials, so the Columbus Fire Department had to be called in. Yet
the firefighters were trained only to deal with industrial hazards, not terrorist incidents.34
Biological terrorism seemed so improbable at the time that one public health official had
difficulty persuading a colleague that his call reporting the incident was not a joke.35
The Yersinia pestis shipped to Harris’ home was freeze-dried, meaning that it was not
immediately dangerous. But health officials estimated that it could be reconstituted in about a
day. The police sent to search Harris’s home also feared that he might spray them with some kind
of poison. “We were… extremely concerned for our own physical well being,” a Lancaster police
officer recalled. “[We] were advised… that if Mr. Harris wanted, he could have some sort of a
spray container where he could actually spray a plague type of material on us, and if he did do
that, that they would have to immediately douse us with chlorine bleach and basically burn the
top layer of skin off.”36
A large team set out to search Harris’ home, equipped with a truck full of equipment
including specialized clothing, suits, and boots. Most of the team set up a block away. Because
they did not want to alarm Harris, the police decided that only two of them would approach him
and that they would wear ordinary uniforms without protective gear. The two officers would lure
Harris out of the house and “take physical control of him,” while officials from the Health
Department, wearing protective gear, would attempt to take possession of the cultures.
At 1:42 a.m. on May 12, 1995, two officers knocked on Harris’ door, waking him from a
deep sleep. “I had taken… probably around seven or eight Excedrin PM’s because I have some
insomnia,” Harris recalled. “The dog started barking. There was a ruckus. I thought someone was
trying to break into the house.”37 The police told Harris that his car had been involved in a hit-
7
and-run accident and asked him to come outside and look at the vehicle to make sure there had
been no damage. Once Harris was outside, the officers handcuffed him. Harris quickly realized
that they were after his Yersinia pestis and revealed to them its location without being asked.
Officer Lutz recalled that Harris volunteered, “You don’t have to do this if it’s about the
pestis…. The Yersinia pestis, it’s in the car, it’s in the glove box of the car.”38
Harris’ recollection is somewhat different. “I was handcuffed then and they were
screaming at me, where’s the germs? Where’s the germs? Where’s the germs? I was kind of
stunned, I really didn’t know what to say…. The yard was full of police… and they were literally
storming in the house like a gang of stormtroopers.”39
With some difficulty, the two police officers managed to remove Harris’s car keys from
his pockets. A third officer from the HAZMAT team, suited up in full protective gear, retrieved
the three vials from Harris’ white Subaru. Harris realized that the police were afraid. He told
them repeatedly that the vials were safe to handle. In fact, Harris kept up an incessant banter.
“Mr. Harris was told by Lieutenant Regan to please be quiet so that he could finish reading him
his rights,” Officer Lutz testified. “Mr. Harris continued to talk nonstop, it seemed, during the
entire time. He gave me the impression that he really wanted to tell us the story about the pestis.
He continued to talk and talk and talk even after [we repeated] the warnings to be quiet so that he
could be read his Miranda rights…. Lieutenant Regan did manage to get the rights in, and then he
just continued to talk pretty much nonstop for several minutes.”40
The police transported Harris to the Lancaster Police Department, where they interviewed
him for an additional two hours. Harris displayed no concern about the need to secure a lawyer
before his interview with the police.41 Nor did he seem inhibited by the knowledge that he was
being taped, with the tape-recorder in full view. “In fact, it was quite the opposite,” Lutz testified.
“He wanted to talk nonstop.”42
After the interview Harris was released. “As soon as I walked in the door, I told my wife I
can’t believe this,” Harris claimed. “This is a setup, something of this nature. I have ordered and
used laboratory equipment all my life, or for years and years…. Very rarely a week goes by that
I’m not ordering something from somewhere, whether it be nutrient media, test strings, what
have you.”43
8
While the police were inspecting Harris’ home, they found weapons and explosives in
addition to the plague bacteria. They also found a certificate stating that Harris was a lieutenant
in the neo-nazi organization Aryan Nations, based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. The group’s leader,
Richard Butler, initially denied that Harris belonged to his organization, but later admitted that
Harris had been a member from the early 1990s until 1995.44 The Lancaster Police Department
requested a second search warrant as well as an arrest warrant. They received both. In part
because of Harris’ apparent affiliation with the Aryan Nations, the case was now considered a
possible act of domestic terrorism. The police returned to Harris’s house that afternoon, this time
together with the FBI.45
The police arrested Harris and took him into custody. An FBI agent came to the station to
interview him. “I was thinking I was going to have to maybe explain a little more to get him to
talk to us,” FBI Special Supervisory Agent David Wilson recalled. But Harris was eager to talk.
“During the entire time we talked, there was no reluctance on his part to talk to me. As a matter
of fact, a lot of times I would have to try to stop him so I could direct questions that I wanted to
ask…. He was providing a lot of information very willingly.”46
On April 22, 1997, Harris pled guilty to one count of wire fraud. The maximum penalty
was six months incarceration and a $25,000 fine.47 But Judge Joseph Kinneary was lenient. He
placed Harris on probation for 18 months, ordered him to complete 200 hours of community
service during the first twelve months of his probation, and assessed a $50 fee.48 The judge told
Harris that if he completed his community service in the first 12 months of his probationary
period, the court might cancel the next six months of probation.49 Harris told me that he felt
lucky to have such a sympathetic judge.50
In addition, the Court ordered Harris not to misrepresent his credentials in any forum or
publication. In particular, Harris was ordered not to claim an association with the CIA. He was
also prohibited from “conducting any experiments with or obtaining any infectious diseases,
bacteria, or germs, except at approved laboratories in conjunction with verified employment.”51
After Harris’s 1995 arrest, the CDC tightened up requirements for shipping 24 infectious
agents and 12 toxins that pose a significant risk to human health, including the bacteria that cause
anthrax, bubonic plague, tularemia, and brucellosis. Shippers and receivers of these infectious
9
agents must now register with the CDC. Ironically, Harris was directly responsible for this
improvement in the law.
Harris’s 1998 Arrest
Larry Harris was “in many ways a model probationer,” according to the District Court. He
paid his $50 fine promptly, performed his 200 hours of community service within the fist year,
and always sought his probation officer’s permission before traveling outside the state.52 In
February 1998, Harris sought permission to take a trip to Las Vegas, where he wanted to promote
his book and a video.53 He told his probation officer, Rick Lenhart, that he would be staying at
the Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall in Las Vegas.54
The other reason Harris wanted to go to Las Vegas was that he had been hired to test a
new device to kill microorganisms that a friend, William Leavitt, was considering purchasing
from a self-employed engineer, Mr. Ronald Rockwell. Harris later told the FBI that Leavitt had
paid him $3,000 to come to Nevada to test the device, called an AZ-58.55 The machine is “a kind
of antibacterial or antiviral piece of equipment” purportedly capable of destroying bacteria and
viruses both inside and outside the body.56 It is based on a “rife tube,” a device developed in the
1930s by a Dr. Royal Rife, who discovered that when sound waves are applied to certain noble
gases in a fixed pattern, the gases emit light of specified frequencies that weaken or kill diseasecausing germs.57
Leavitt hired Harris because he believed him to be a reputable microbiologist. Despite the
court’s explicit order that he not make such claims, Harris told Leavitt and the latter’s friend
Robert James that he was working with both the CIA and the FBI on biological defense. Even
during his short visit to Las Vegas, Harris told James, his “friends from the FBI and from the
CIA” had come to visit him.58 “They kind of watch out for me because there was an attempt on
my life once,” Harris explained.59 If the “rife tube” proved effective in the tests in Las Vegas,
Harris claimed that he would arrange for a more complete analysis at Dugway Proving Ground,
the U.S. government’s chemical/biological testing site in Utah.60
Leavitt hoped to buy the rife-tube technology, if it worked, and mass-produce the devices
in Germany, with the idea of using them for “mass decontamination” in the event of a BW
attack.61 Rockwell was demanding $20 million for the technology and stood to make a lot of
10
money if the AZ-58 performed as promised. But Rockwell—who turned out to have been
convicted and imprisoned for fraud—became alarmed when Harris told him that he planned to
test the device using “military-grade anthrax.” Harris purportedly also told Rockwell that he had
enough anthrax on hand to “wipe out” all of Las Vegas. 62
On the morning of February 18, 1998, Rockwell phoned the FBI and told the agent who
answered the phone that he had met with two people the night before who had told him they were
carrying lethal anthrax bacteria in their car. The FBI asked Rockwell to come in for an interview,
and he agreed. He told the FBI that Leavitt and Harris had said that in addition to anthrax, they
possessed Bacillus licheniformis (which Harris claimed required a Biosafety Level 3 lab) and
other microbes “even worse than that.”63 (Bacillus licheniformis is used in industry and is
considered non-pathogenic to humans, although a few cases of illness have been reported in
connection with consumption of inappropriately prepared food.64) After the FBI learned of
Harris’ earlier involvement with biological agents, they began “gearing up for what might very
well turn out to be a catastrophe, as far as they knew.”65 They sought and received permission to
monitor Rockwell’s contacts with the two men, and prepared to retrieve the biological agents.
At 3:15 p.m., Rockwell phoned Leavitt with the FBI listening in. He asked Leavitt
whether they really were planning to test military-grade anthrax, and whether Leavitt and Harris
knew how to handle lethal microbes. Leavitt told Rockwell that he personally had handled the
military-grade anthrax, that it was in a vial, and that he was familiar with “sterile techniques.”
Rockwell asked what would happen if somebody stumbled and spilled the material. Leavitt told
Rockwell that if material were to spill, “you can stand back and we’ll make sure that all of the
appropriate precautions are taken.” They agreed to meet a local restaurant called Landry’s at 7:00
p.m. Rockwell would bring the AZ-58 machine, and Leavitt and Harris would bring the
biological material.66
At 6:30 p.m., FBI agents assigned to watch Harris and Leavitt observed the two men
leave their hotel. Leavitt was carrying a white Styrofoam cooler, which he put in the trunk of the
Mercedes he was driving. At the restaurant, Rockwell joined the two men in their car. The FBI
had wired Rockwell with a body recorder so that they could monitor what Leavitt and Harris
were saying. Rockwell again asked what would happen if they had an accident and the anthrax
leaked. Harris mimicked someone playing a violin, which Rockwell interpreted to mean “run like
11
hell.”67 The three men drove to an office complex in Henderson, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas,
and were followed from a distance by a large group of federal agents, including a SWAT team,
both on the ground and in the air.
Rockwell observed Harris carry the white cooler into the Green Valley Professional
Office Building. Next he told the FBI that he could see Harris and Leavitt inside a doctor’s office
through an open venetian blind. He watched Harris pull out a red, cottage-cheese-style container
and another container containing a clear substance. Soon afterwards, the Las Vegas SWAT team
appeared on the scene and arrested all three men. Harris and Leavitt were transported to a local
hospital to be checked for contamination.
After the arrest, a large number of federal and local agents—including members of the
Las Vegas Fire Department HAZMAT team, an FBI weapons-of-mass-destruction team, the
Nellis Air Force Base Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, and the Army biological team from
Dugway Proving Ground were summoned to the scene.68 They retrieved the white cooler from
the doctor’s office, together with 40 petrie dishes sitting on a shelf, swathed the Mercedes in
plastic “saran wrap,” and transported it to Nellis Air Force Base. The Air Force then shipped the
biological materials to the U.S. Army Medical Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at
Fort Detrick, Maryland, for analysis. 69
Until this point, the federal authorities assumed that the material they had recovered was
lethal. They also believed Harris to be an extremely dangerous man. The FBI reported in its
complaint that Harris had told an unidentified group “of plans to place a ‘globe’ of bubonic
plague toxins [sic] in a New York subway station, where it would be broken by a passing subway
train, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths.”70 Harris had also made vague threats in an
interview with journalist David Kaplan in US News & World Report, claiming “if they arrest a
bunch of our guys, they get a test tube in the mail,” and warning that anti-government activists
might attack U.S. cities if they didn’t get their own nation in the Pacific Northwest. “How many
cities are you willing to lose before you back off?” Harris reportedly asked. “At what point do
you say: if these guys want to go off to the Northwest and have five states declared to be their
own free and independent country, let them do it?”71
Several days later, government scientists told the FBI that Harris did have anthrax
bacteria in his cooler, but the strain was a benign type used in vaccines.72 They also identified a
12
non-virulent strain of Escherichia coli. 73 In the course of searching the Mercedes, officials found
Harris’s resume, in which he claimed to have worked for the CIA at two locations. These
statements were a violation of his probation.74 Harris had also switched hotels without informing
his probation officer, a second violation.
After Harris was arrested, federal agents went back to search his home. One of the first
things they noticed was a large number of animals: approximately 16 dogs and six cats.75 They
also found a number of microscopes, a nozzle (possibly for spraying microorganisms in the air),
and other assorted equipment. 76 They also found penicillin, “agricillin” (penicillin for animals),
anthrax vaccines, and growth media. But they found no virulent microorganisms.77
On February 22, 1998, federal authorities dropped the charges that Harris and Leavitt had
acquired a lethal biological agent. Leavitt was freed, but Harris remained in custody because of
his probation violations. On March 6, a federal magistrate found “probable cause” that Harris had
threatened to possess a biological agent (anthrax) but not to use it as a weapon. The judge also
found probable cause to believe that Harris had misrepresented his credentials (by claiming to
have worked for the CIA) and that he had changed his address in Nevada without informing his
probationary officer.78 The court released Harris from jail pending a final decision.
On March 25, Judge Kinneary ruled that Harris would remain free. He extended Harris’
probation by five months and ordered him to perform 50 additional hours of community service.
He also ordered Harris to appear before a probation officer once a week for two months. The
sentencing guidelines allowed the judge to send Harris to jail for nine months, but Judge
Kinneary was lenient once again. After the trial, Harris told reporters he felt “fantastic” about the
judge’s decision. He repeated that his only purpose, in both the 1995 and 1998 cases, had been to
protect America against the threat of biological terrorism.79
Is Larry Harris a Terrorist?
Harris is an adherent of the Identity Christian Church, which believes that blacks are
subhuman and that Jews are the offspring of Satan. Harris’s religious views are peculiarly
intertwined with his belief in an imminent Iraqi BW attack. When Iraq strikes the United States
with biological weapons, he claims, plagues will ravage the North American continent as
predicted in the Book of Revelation.80 Harris says he became convinced of the truth of Biblical
13
prophecy when he “accidentally” proved the existence of God in a series of experiments. These
experiments also proved that “evolution is a total impossibility” and that the “Endtime” predicted
in the Book of Revelation will occur “within a reasonable period of time.”81
Immediately after his trial in March 1998, Harris told a journalist he had given up his
neo-nazi beliefs and was now a born-again Christian.82 Harris was reportedly expelled from the
Aryan Nations after his 1995 arrest, which may have influenced his claimed decision to
relinquish his racist views. Right-wing groups “don’t like their members going to prison”
because it is bad for their image, a government official explained.83
In some ways Harris fits the profile of a CBW terrorist. He displays typical
symptoms of political paranoia.84 He has grandiose views of his own capabilities and his
own importance, claiming to have worked at or advised important government
organizations (most of whom never heard of him until Harris was arrested for acquiring
plague bacteria), and professing to have acquired “advanced” knowledge of biology.85 He
claims to have proven the existence of God in scientific experiments, a feat presumably
worthy of a Nobel prize, if not sainthood. He also sees himself as a savior of the
American people.
At the same time Harris feels victimized, claiming that an unnamed person tried
to murder him and that his “friends” at CIA and FBI now watch out for him. He has
paranoid views of his own government and the government of Iraq. (Some of his beliefs
about Iraq are probably true, but that does not make him less paranoid.)86 His belief that
the US government is out to get him has also become true to a certain extent, now that he
has demonstrated himself to be dangerous. He also believes in imminent Armageddon, a
view he holds in common with many groups that have become violent. And he
subscribed to the racist beliefs of Identity Christianity, although he claims to have given
up those views.
Harris holds many of these beliefs and fears in common with a number of
extremely violent groups who have tried to use, or have used, CB agents. For example,
Shoko Asahara believed a foreign power was about to strike his country. He also feared
his own government was out to get him. He believed in imminent Armageddon. He had
grandiose views of his own importance and capabilities, claiming to be capable of passing
14
through walls; and envisaging himself as the leader of a new race. And he denigrated
“the Jews” in his writings, although there are few Jews in Japan. Likewise, James Ellison
was simultaneously suspicious, megalomanical, grandiose, and racist. He feared
imminent strikes by foreign powers. He had paranoid views about his own government,
believing that offspring of Satan (Jews and Zionists) had overtaken it. Like many
religious terrorists, Ellison told his followers that he personally had direct contact with
God through visions and dreams, and that God was directing the group’s violent
activities.
Unlike Asahara and Ellison, Harris was not leading an activist organization. But a
technically trained, angry individual could disseminate CB agents on his own; he would
not need a large cadre of operatives. This would be especially true if his main objective
were to panic the public or frighten the government. The Alphabet bomber frightened
many people, despite not having carried out his threat to disseminate sarin over
Washington, DC.
Many aspects of Harris’ behavior and views are not those generally associated
with individuals or groups who have successfully carried out CBW attacks. He was not
living on an armed compound or withdrawn from society. He does not appear to be
particularly disciplined in his violent crusade. Indeed, it is not at all clear that he has
violent objectives. He is not secretive. In stark contrast with the Alphabet bomber, who
ceased talking altogether, Harris talked too much. He was so talkative during police
investigations that it was difficult for officers to read him Miranda rights. Harris
repeatedly interrupted them. Unlike members of the Minnesota Patriots Council or the
Alphabet bomber, there is no evidence that Harris was estranged from his wife or felt
alienated from society. He seems to have been liked by his colleagues, who describe him
as an able, energetic worker.
Harris makes dramatic statements that would seem to indicate violent intentions. For
example, in defending the dissemination of biological-weapons information, Harris claimed, “It’s
deterrence…If you know that everyone in the neighborhood has an atomic bomb, civility returns
to the neighborhood very quickly.”87 But these statements seem calculated to fascinate and
15
frighten. In the end, Harris seems far more interested in drawing attention to himself than in
carrying out mass murder.
Before the Las Vegas incident, he hired a publicity agent, who tried to persuade him not
to go there. Harris claims to be working on a mysterious deal in Hollywood and has actively
sought out television and radio interviews. After his February 1998 arrest, Harris was sought out
by a man interested in learning about how to protect himself from biological terrorism. Soon
after that Harris started a consulting firm that specializes in training individuals, groups, and
communities to survive biological-weapons attacks. Harris told a reporter, “I guess there is no
such thing as negative publicity,” referring to the notoriety he earned after his arrest, and how it
led to his starting a consulting company.88 These are not behaviors one would expect to find
among terrorists. If Harris were actually planning to disseminate anthrax in the New York
subway system in the expectation that the U.S. government would blame the attack on Iraq, it
seems unlikely he would go out of his way to draw so much attention to himself in advance.
Harris is not a terrorist in the traditional sense. He has not killed anyone and probably has
no immediate plans to do so, but he is still dangerous for two reasons. First, he has made
statements that have been interpreted as threatening. The citizens of Las Vegas were deeply
alarmed when they heard that Harris claimed to have military-grade anthrax and that he had
earlier threatened to attack New York City with plague. Tabloids in New York ran stories with
headlines like Subway Plague Terror and Feds Nab 2 in Toxic Terror.89 The mere threat of a
biological attack on a city could cause injuries and even deaths if citizens panicked and tried to
evacuate en masse, even if no biological agents were actually released.
The second reason Harris is dangerous is that he is spreading ideas that might be taken up
by other right-wing activists who are less dramatic, more hateful, and more discrete than he.
Harris is a frequent guest at survivalist fairs and on right-wing and anti-abortion talk-radio and
television. He may have given ideas to dedicated terrorists who would otherwise have stuck to
less lethal weapons, and he may have persuaded amateurs to attempt the kind of attacks that he
repeatedly describes.
1
I would like to thank Melinda Lamont-Havers for her extraordinarily helpful research assistance.
One informant said that Harris said he had “military-grade anthrax.” Another said Harris referred to a
vaccine or a placebo. Proceedings before the Regular Federal Grand Jury, Testimony of Robert James,
February 25, 1998, United States District Court, District of Nevada, p. 17. United States of America v.
2
16
Larry Wayne Harris, Complete Transcript of Proceedings, CR-2-95-093, March 6, 1998, United States
District Court, Southern District of Ohio, p. 35.
3
Author interview with Larry Wayne Harris, January 23, 1998. All Harris quotes that follow are from the
same interview.
4
Author interview with a former colleague of Harris’s who asked not to be identified, August 11, 1998.
5
Ibid.
6
Author interviews with public health officials involved in the 1995 case, July 29, 1998.
7
Leonard A. Cole, Clouds of Secrecy: The Army’s Germ Warfare Tests Over Populated Areas (Totowa,
New Jersey: Rowman & Littlefield, 1988), p. 68. U.S. Army Activities in the United States Biological
Warfare Programs 1942-1977, (Washington: Department of the Army, 1977), vol. I, p. 6-3; vol. II, p. IVE-1-1.
8
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, William Job Leavitt, Jr., Criminal Complaint, Case No.
MAG-98-2042-M-RLH, February 19, 1998, United States District Court, District of Nevada, p. 3.
9
Author interview; Testimony of Larry Wayne Harris, State of Ohio v. Stephen Michael Wharf, Case No.
96CR17145, August 5, 1997, State of Ohio, Warren County, Court of Common Pleas, p. 14.
10
Testimony of Larry Wayne Harris, State of Ohio v. Stephen Michael Wharf, p. 4-5. Unless otherwise
noted, all material in this section on Harris’ background is from Bacteriological Warfare: A Major Threat
to North America. What You and Your Family Can Do Before and After. Larry Wayne Harris, Registered
Microbiologist, video put out by Virtue International Publishing, 1997. In 1971 Aberdeen Proving Ground
incorporated Edgewood Arsenal, which researched, produced and stored chemical munitions. Larry W.
Harris, Record of Assignments, US Army, National Personnel Records Center; Melinda Lamont-Havers
interview, Aberdeen Public Affairs officer, September 3, 1998 and interview with Ed Starrs, Aberdeen
Public Affairs, October 23, 1998. A Technical Escort Unit at Aberdeen deals with CB defenses, and
explosives ordinance disposal, but Harris’ record indicates that he never worked there.
11
OSU keeps records of students’ enrollment periods. Harris first enrolled at OSU in September 1972 and
enrolled again in August 1993. He received an Associate Degree in Biophysics in 1985. Melinda LamontHavers interview, June 19, 1998.
12
Lamont-Havers phone interview with Judy Meadows, personnel officer at Battelle, June 19, 1998.
13
Colonel Abdul Salam Arif was involved in a military coup that ended that Hashimite monarchy in Iraq in
1958. In February 1963 he became president of Iraq. In 1966 he was killed in a helicopter crash. His
brother, Gen. Abdul Rahman Arif, succeeded him. The Ba'athists overthrew Arif in a July 1968 coup.
http://www.achilles.net/~sal/iraq_history.html
14
Soon after this (in late 1991), Harris says he came to work and discovered that the small reference lab that
had employed him for several years had ceased to exist. It had been “totally cleaned up,” Harris explains.
His employer handed him his personal effects in a little black bag. Fortunately, he claims, he had been in
the habit of throwing his (presumably classified) lab notes into the bottom of his closet, so he still has
access to his research notes. CIA public affairs office refused to comment on Harris’ claim to have worked
there or its alleged involvement in training Iraqi nationals in biological-weapons defense. But the CIA wrote
a letter to the District Court in Ohio claiming to have no record of anyone named Larry Harris with Harris’
social security number and birth date. United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Complete
Transcript of Proceedings, CR-2-95-093, March 6, 1998, p. 29-30.
15
Testimony of Larry Wayne Harris, State of Ohio v. Stephen Michael Wharf. Inquires into Harris’
possible Federal employment was returned with “a search of our records did not reveal a record of the
claimed Federal employment.” Response Letter, National Archives and Record Administration, October
20, 1998.
16
Melinda Lamont-Havers interview of a Pentagon spokesperson, August 12, 1998.
17
Melinda Lamont-Havers interview with U.S. government scientist, June 19, 1998.
18
Melinda Lamont-Havers interview with Ohio State University’s Verification Office.
19
Larry Wayne Harris, Bacteriological Warfare: A Major Threat to North America (Indianapolis, Ind.:
Virtue International Publishing, 1995), p. i.
20
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Complete Transcript of Proceedings, Case No. CR-295-093, March 6, 1998, p. 26-27.
21
Testimony of Larry Wayne Harris, State of Ohio v. Stephen Michael Wharf, p. 13.
17
22
Ibid, p. 14.
Author interview with a Superior Laboratories employee, August 11, 1998.
24
Ann Fisher and Jill Riepenhoff, “Harris described as good worker with ‘kooky ideas,’” The Columbus
Dispatch, February 21, 1998.
25
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Change of Plea and Sentencing, CR-2-95-93, April 22,
1998, p. 7.
26
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Grand Jury charges, CR-2-95-93, p. 2.
27
Harris contradicted himself several times about whether he had a laboratory in his home, or just intended
to build one. When asked whether he had a laboratory at his home during his hearing, Harris said, “I have,
by all practical purposes, a very fine laboratory, very well equipped laboratory, even backup microscopes,
backup equipment, and do extensive research.” But earlier he said, “I’ve been wanting to accumulate
enough laboratory equipment so that I can build my own laboratory.” United States of America v. Larry
Wayne Harris, Opinion and Order, CR-2-95-93, p. 7.
28
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Change of Plea and Sentencing, CR-2-95-93, p. 9.
29
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Change of Plea and Sentencing, CR-2-95-93, p. 10. I
tried to interview the technician. Raymond Cypess, the President and CEO of ATCC wrote a letter to
Melinda Lamont-Havers (who had written ATCC on my behalf) refusing the interview request. He
explained that ATCC is being sued in connection with the gulf war syndrome, and that despite the suit being
“frivolous in its basis,” ATCC is reluctant to allow interviews of any of its staff. Letter from Raymond H.
Cypess to Melinda Lamont-Havers, July 9, 1998.
30
The State of Ohio v. Larry Wayne Harris, Affidavit for Search Warrant, Exhibit A in United States of
America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Motion to Dismiss/Suppress Evidence, CR-2-95-93.
31
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Suppression Hearings, CR-2-95-93, April 1, 1997, pp.
7-8; United States v. Larry Wayne Harris, Change of Plea and Sentencing, p. 10.
32
United States v. Larry Wayne Harris, Opinion and Order, CR-2-95-93, p. 2.
33
Ibid.
34
Author interviews with public health officials who asked not to be identified, July 29, 1998.
35
Ibid.
36
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Suppression Hearings, CR-2-95-93, April 1,1997, p. 27.
37
Ibid, p. 72.
38
Ibid, p. 30.
39
Ibid, p. 73-74.
40
Ibid, pp. 32-33.
41
The police testified that Harris seemed nonchalant and at ease, but Harris testified that he tried
“desperately” to get an attorney as soon as he was released. United States of America v. Larry Wayne
Harris, Suppression Hearings, CR-2-95-93, April 1, 1997, p. 78.
42
Ibid, p. 34.
43
Ibid, p. 77.
44
A national organizer for Aryan Nations, Tim Bishop, reportedly told an Ohio newspaper that Harris
joined Aryan Nations in 1994. Larry Henry, “Harris’ Troubled Past Includes Mail Fraud, White
Supremacy,” Las Vegas Sun, February 20, 1998. http://www.lasvegassun.com/dossier/crime/bio/harris.html
45
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Suppression Hearings, CR-2-95-93, April 1, 1997, p.
64.
46
Ibid, pp. 66-68.
47
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Change of Plea and Sentencing, CR-2-95-93, April 22,
1997, p. 19.
48
Legally the $50 is not considered a fine but an assessment.
49
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Change of Plea and Sentencing, CR-2-95-93, April 22,
1997.
50
Author interview with Harris, January 23, 1998.
51
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Judgment in a Criminal Case, CR-2-95-93, p. 2.
52
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Defendant’s Admission of Facts Relevant to Revocation
Proceedings, CR-2-95-93, March 23, 1998, p. 4-5.
23
18
53
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Complete Transcript of Proceedings, CR-2-95-93,
March 6, 1998, p. 147.
54
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Defendant’s Admission of Facts Relevant to Revocation
Proceedings, CR-2-95-93, March 23, 1998, p. 4.
55
Defendant’s Exhibit P, File 279A-LV-30031, Investigation in Las Vegas, Nevada, February 18, 1998.
56
Proceedings before the Regular Federal Grand Jury, Testimony of Robert James, February 25, 1998, p. 9.
57
“What is a Rife Beam Ray Generator?” http://home.att.net/~ralph.hartwell/rifemain.htm.
58
Proceedings before the Regular Federal Grand Jury, Testimony of Robert James, February 25, 1998, p.
15.
59
Ibid, p. 24.
60
Ibid, p. 17.
61
FBI Interview of Larry Harris, File 279A-LV-30031, February 18, 1998.
62
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Complete Transcript of Proceedings, CR-2-95-093,
March 6, 1998, p. 92.
63
Ibid, p. 35.
64
Anne Sietske de Boer, Fergus Priest, Borge Diderichsen, “On the industrial use of Bacillus Licheniformis:
a review,” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Volume 40 Issue 5 (1994), pp. 595-598.
65
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Complete Transcript of Proceedings, CR-2-95-093,
March 6, 1998, p. 43.
66
Transcript of recorded conversation between William Leavitt and Ron Rockwell, 279A-LV-30031,
February 18, 1998, p. 3-5.
67
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Complete Transcript of Proceedings, CR-2-95-093,
March 6, 1998, p. 52.
68
Transcript of Bobby Siller, Special Agent in Charge, Nevada division, FBI, “News Conference on the
Apprehension of Two Aryan Nation Members Accused of Plotting an Attack on a City Subway System,”
February 19, 1998.
69
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Complete Transcript of Proceedings, CR-2-95-093,
March 6, 1998, p. 52.
70
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, William Job Leavitt, Jr., Criminal Complaint, Case No.
MAG-98-2042-M-RLH, February 19, 1998, p. 3.
71
David Kaplan, “Terrorism’s Next Wave,” US News and World Report, November 17, 1997.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/971117/17weap.htm.
72
Vaccine strains do produce anthrax toxin components but they do not produce poly-D-glutamic acid
capsule, which is required for virulence. Letter to SSA David Wilson from John Ezzell, Chief, Department
of Special Pathogens, Diagnostic Systems Division, February 24, 1998, Government Exhibit 3-5, United
States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, CR-2-95-093.
73
Letter to SSA David Wilson from John Ezzell, Chief, Department of Special Pathogens, Diagnostic
Systems Division, March 2, 1998, Government Exhibit 3-5, United States of America v. Larry Wayne
Harris, CR-2-95-093.
74
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Defendant’s Admission of Facts Relevant to Revocation
Proceedings, CR-2-95-93, March 23, 1998, p. 3.
75
United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, Complete Transcript of Proceedings, CR-2-95-093,
March 6, 1998, p. 106.
76
FBI Evidence of Recovery Log from search of Harris’ home, February 20, 1998, United States of
America v. Larry Wayne Harris, CR-2-95-093.
77
Letter to SSA David Wilson from John Ezzell, Chief, Department of Special Pathogens, Diagnostic
Systems Division, March 2, 1998.
78
Courtroom Minute Sheet, United States of America v. Larry Wayne Harris, CR-2-95-93, March 6, 1998.
79
Robert Ruth, “Harris Pleads Guilty, is Free,” Columbus Dispatch, March 25, 1998.
80
Testimony of Larry Wayne Harris, State of Ohio v. Stephen Michael Wharf, p. 12-13.
81
Ibid, p. 12.
82
Robert Ruth, “Harris Pleads Guilty, is Free,” Columbus Dispatch, March 25, 1998.
83
Henry, “Harris’ Troubled Past Includes Mail Fraud, White Supremacy.”
19
84
Robert S. Robins and Jerrold M. Post, Political Paranoia, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997), p.
104.
85
There is no evidence that Harris earned any advanced degrees in biology. Ohio State University reports
awarding him an Associate Degree in Biophysics in 1985. [Harris was a member of the American Society
for Microbiology (ASM). ASM requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in microbiology
for membership. In 1998 Harris was expelled from ASM by their Committee on Ethical Practices in
response to his 1997 conviction for wire fraud, which violates their code of ethics. Melinda Lamont-Havers
interview with Barbara Hyde, American Society for Microbiology press office, October 30, 1998.]
86
For more on how people can be simultaneously paranoid and correct about others’ negative intentions,
see Robins and Post, Political Paranoia.
87
Harris told a reporter that “the people I’m talking to... they’re going to post step-by-step instructions how
to obtain anthrax, how to disperse it.” Interview with Larry Wayne Harris by David E. Kaplan, U.S. News
& World Report, September 2, 1997. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/chemhigh.htm.
88
Michael Sangiacomo, “Man’s Chemical Arrest Used to Promote Firm,” The Cleveland Plain Dealer,
May 16, 1998, p. 4B.
89
Tamala M. Edwards, “Catching a 48-Hour Bug,” Time, vol. 151 no. 8, March 2, 1998.
20